Beyoncé's new release: a PR stunt or a bold strategic move?

So Beyoncé today surprised the music industry by releasing an album of entirely new material without any prior announcement or buzz-building press tour.

Titled "Beyoncé" the new visual album (each song is accompanied by a video) has been made available exclusively on iTunes and is only available as a bundle purchase. Fans will be able to get hold of the individual tracks starting December the 20th.

Beyoncé with this release is defying the age-old model of building anticipation around a release in order to achieve the highest possible chart placement. She stated: “There’s so much that gets between the music, the artist and the fans. I felt like I didn't want anybody to give the message when my record is coming out.”

Another significant aspect of the release is the iTunes exclusivity. The record will be available to purchase on CD/DVD as soon as next week but there is no word as to when it will hit other digital retail stores. Additionally it is nowhere to be found on streaming services like Spotify, Rdio or Deezer and again no word as to whether it will be distributed via those channels anytime before the end of the year. 

Beyoncé’s label, Columbia Records, took a risk today but also saved a significant amount of money that would have been burned during the pre-release campaign. By having a release out this late the label also ensured that this album will be front and center in consumer's minds when those all-important iTunes gift card purchases come rushing in on Christmas Day.

Are fans ready to jump on a release as soon as it’s out? Do you still need to drive the same awareness levels when your fans are constantly asking about your next release date?

In order to answer these questions the industry will be keeping a close eye on how this strategy works out for the mega-star, after long pre-release promo stretches by stars like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga have resulted in lower-than-expected sales this quarter.

Beyoncé in the last week announced a slew of new dates in the UK and Ireland which were dubbed as another leg of her “Mrs Carter” tour. The announcement had drawn some criticism since without a new album release it seemed as if the star was going to perform the exact same show she’d been touring with for the past two years. Now fans can be reassured that Mrs Carter will be performing at least a handful of new tracks, even if the staging may not be altered substantially.

The question remains: is this release a PR stunt or a bold strategic move? Given the simultaneous coverage it's receiving in the press both online and offline it's easy to dismiss it as the former, but an album release is still the cornerstone for at least one, if not two years' worth of work when it comes to an artist like Beyoncé. A combination of her own determination in seeing the album delivered to the fans without middlemen, the potential PR resonance and a bold, well-orchestrated post-release plan will all have played an important part in this decision.

(Andrea Leonelli)